1018 



PRACTICAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS aspidium 



at the base with rusty scales, are pm- 

 nately divided into ovate-oblong or some- 

 what heart-shaped pinnae, which have 

 forked and simple veins and downy or 

 hairy margins and surfaces. 



Culture <tc. as above. This Fern 

 flourishes in moist shady spots and may 

 be used in nooks in the rockery. See also 

 p. 1009. 



W. ilvensis. — This is practically a 

 variety of W. hyperhorea but is usually 

 kept distinct for garden purposes. It differs 

 in having the fronds more broadly lauce- 

 shaped in outline, and the pinnae deeply 

 cut into oblong and rather crenate lobes. 



Culture dtc. as above. See also p. 1009. 



W. obtusa {W. perriniana). — An 

 American species extending along the 

 mountains from the United States to 

 Peru, and hardy enough for mild parts 

 of our climate. The oblong lajQoe-ahaped 

 fronds, 6-9 in. long, are twice or thrice 

 pinnately out or divided into oblong, 

 blunt, somewhat crenate pinnules, but 

 are not jointed with the stalk. The 

 plants grow in slender tufts and are very 

 graceful. 



Culture do. as above. See also p. 1009. 



ASPIDIUM (Shield Feen).— A genus 

 of tufted evergreen Ferns with pinnate 

 fronds and round sori, covered with a 

 round shield-like indusium. The plants 

 commonly known as Polystichums are 

 now included with the Shield Ferns. 



Culture and Propagation. — The 

 Hardy Shield Ferns are among the most 

 ornamental plants for the outdoor garden. 

 They are strong and free-growing and 

 most of them require little attention after 

 they are once established in suitable 

 places. They prefer shaded places under 

 tall trees, nooks in the rockery, or among 

 Ericaoeous shrubs, such as Ehododen- 

 drons, Azaleas, Kalmias &c. During the 

 summer months they require plenty of 

 moisture, but the soil in which they are 

 growing — consisting of sandy loam, peat, 

 and leaf-mould — must be well drained, 

 as with other Ferns. Most kinds of 

 Aspidium may be easily increased from 

 spores, and by division of the rootstocks 

 in spring. 



A. aculeatum (Polyatichum aculea- 

 turn). — PrioMy Shield Fern.— A sturdy 

 native Fern with broadly ovate lance- 



shaped fronds about 2 ft. long, rather 

 harsh and rigid in texture, the upper 

 surface deep green and shining, and the 

 short stalks clothed with rusty pointed 

 scales. The fronds are twice pinnate, the 

 alternate pinnae being again more or 

 less deeply divided into rhomboid-ovoid 

 pinnules with sharp teeth or bristles. 

 The variety lohatu/m has narrower twice- 

 pinnate fronds and very rigid more or 

 less decurrent pinnules. The variety 

 angula/re {PoVysticliv/m a/ngulare) known 

 as the ' Soft Shield Fern ' differs chiefly 

 from the type in having stalked and not 

 sessile pinnules, which are likewise less 

 harsh in texture, and with long pointed 

 teeth. 



The garden forms of the Prickly 

 Shield Fern are very numerous, many of 

 them being beautifully crested, lobed, and 

 tasselled. Some of the best known forms 

 are acrocladon, crested ; Baileyce, with 

 slender pinnules ; bra^hiato - cristatum , 

 with fronds forming a crested trident ; 

 congestu/m, very dwarf and tufted; cris- 

 pato-folioaum, dense and pretty ; crista- 

 tum, finely tasselled ; decompositum ; 

 divisilohum cristatum, deeply divided 

 and crested ; d. phimosum densum and 

 d. p. laxum — two charming feathered 

 forms rivalling Todea superha in effect ; 

 grandiceps, tasselled ; parvissimum, a 

 densely congested form with fronds 

 12-18 in. long ; Pateyi, a wild feathered 

 form; polydactylum, beautiful fingered 

 divisions ; pulcherrimum, a splendid 

 feathered variety with barren fronds ; 

 setosum, a finely cut bristly form ; tripin- 

 natum, a fine and much divided form. 

 Culture dc. as above. See also p. 1009. 



A. Lonchitis (Polystichum Lonchitis). 

 Alpine Shield or Holly Fern. — A stiflish 

 prickly looking native species with dense 

 tufts of linear oblong pinnate fronds, 

 6-18 in. long, bright green above, and 

 scaly at the base of the short stalks. The 

 narrow ovate pinnae are J-1 in. long with 

 sharply toothed or spiny edges and tips, 

 and sori in 2-3 rows on each side of the 

 midrib. The Holly Fern, which is found 

 on the rocks at an elevation of over 

 3000 ft. in the Highlands of Scotland, is 

 somewhat difficult to transplant success- 

 fully. Plants for the garden would pro- 

 bably be better raised fi-om spores and 

 then planted when yomig in sheltered 

 shady niches of the rockery. The variety 

 cristatum is a crested form. 



